Interview Question: How long will it take for you to make a significant contribution?

If you hear this question during your interview, lucky you. It’s actually your golden ticket to create a positive impression.

This question is usually asked by recruiters to help them determine how fast you can adjust to the working environment. Remember to take your time before answering and consider the overall expectations common to the type of work you’ve applied for.

Never make empty promises. Avoid committing to providing immediate results unless you’re completely confident that you will be able to deliver. Failing to live up to any claims of immediate results will hurt your reputation and may even cause your termination.

Create a plan. Discuss your outline for your 30-, 60-,or 90-day plan to answer the question effectively. Ninety days should be enough to transition from a brand- new employee to a fully functioning member of the team.

Your first month should focus on training and learning the company’s procedures and systems. By your third month, you should be able to initiate a few projects on your own. Include important details in your plan — you’ll stay in the recruiter’s mind.

Why Make a Plan?

Creating a plan shows you’re a well-prepared and knowledgeable candidate. A concrete plan demonstrates that you have the enthusiasm, drive, initiative and goal-setting traits important to employers. You will be perceived as someone that will benefit the company in a variety of ways.

So the next time you’re considering how you can make a significant contribution, avoid stating a deadline. Instead, start by saying, “I’ve put together a preliminary plan for what I can do to get started.”

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 40,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.